#ok goodnight i should sleep fr

[mqfx]

unrelated to current fl hysteria (well, a Iittle bit) but I really love the contrast between mulian and fenglian and the ship dynamics say a lot about mq and fx's characters respectively

with mulian there's an insurmountable gap full of things left unsaid. it's most often depicted as a distant kind of love--mq admires xl so much but has internalized other people's low opinion of him so the connection is fraught and strained and it's complicated by feelings of inferiority and insecurity. most importantly it's usually one-sided because as much as mq feels a lot, he rarely communicates this plainly. he's so closed off that he can't let anyone else in

with fenglian is the exact opposite, which is inseparability. puppy love is a funny name for it: a dog and its master are leagues apart but the dog doesn't care; it always follows anyway. their love is simple and total devotion. what makes their later separation all the more heartbreaking is that he'd given up all of himself. fx loves xl so much that he can't let go and would've never been the first to quit. fx is so open that it's other people who choose to walk away first

[xxplastic-cubexx]

cherik as that one pink nightgown and blue pajamas holding a candle picture

this is so rushed but like. but like i see the vision and i needed to share it with all of you ok. pov you got caught raiding the fridge at 3AM

[barkingangelbaby]

druggy sleepy am is very kissable n that's all i have to say on the matter !!

[stunie]

i just WOKE UP !!?????!!!!!!

2024.07.15 — dinner date with Ume. ♡

(hands up if you know where the reference photo’s froooommmmm!!!! >:3 aju nice.)

[arachine]

. . . 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 ! ˚₊✩‧₊

— pairing: ellie williams x fem!reader

general tags: college! au, established relationship, fluff, suggestive

content warnings: period cramps, reader is a baby, ellie is patient, kissing, allusions to sex, brief mention of dealer!ellie + not proofread and also not my best work bc i was in pain !

note: this is super self-indulgent bc i am, unfortunately, on my monthly, and so, i am making it everyone’s problem >.<

ellie’s annoyed. actually, she’s concerned—maybe, slightly, kind of more than that too, but right now, she’s annoyed. this wasn’t like you—not answering messages, not answering calls.

she’d understand it if you were busy, especially since finals season was steadily approaching as the days passed, but she knew you didn’t have any plans today. that much was confirmed the last time she’d spoken to you, which was, if she could recall (she could recall it perfectly), last night at 8:00 p.m.

future wife 👰‍♀️: gn baby, see you tomorrow for breakfast! get some sleep ok? <33

ellie: alr goodnight baby. i’ll come get you at 9 ok? don’t oversleep this time, wanna get some french toast before all the athletes take it :/

future wife 👰‍♀️: never gonna let me live it down, huh?

ellie: never!

future wife 👰‍♀️: god alr, i won’t oversleep!!! promise :3 now gn fr this time!!! gts!!!

ellie: ok bossy i’m going to sleep 🫡 love you

that was the last message she’d sent to you that night. this morning, however, she made an effort to send you a slew of follow-up texts before making her way over to your dorm:

ellie: good morning sexy, you up?

ellie: it’s french toast time ☝🏻

ellie: don’t tell me you’re sleeping…

there was five minutes sent in-between each message, and yet, still no response. that’s when she got the bright idea to call.

“alright, this should wake her up,” she raised the phone to her ear, pacing around her apartment while waiting for the line to go through. to her dismay, it rung a few times before going straight to voicemail—to which she almost got excited over because you’ve got one of those annoying ass voicemails that sound like someone picked up the line.

“hey […], this is (name). sorry you can’t reach me right now, but leave a message and i’ll get back to you as soon as i c—”

“fucking hell.” ellie pinches the knot between her brows and sighs, ending the call before voicemail you can finish your sentence. again, she calls, thinking this time you’ll answer, but to no avail. it goes right to voicemail.

“the fuck…” she doesn’t even bother leaving a message. beelines right to her closet and grabs her sneaks, a hoodie, and her wallet, then heads out of her apartment building and begins the trek to your dormitory.

when she gets there, she buzzes in with her student keycard, and pads right up to the security desk. just as she’s about to open her mouth, one of the guards sitting interrupts her.

“can i see your proof of residence, please?” he says blankly, raising a fig bar up to his mouth.

“randy, really? you know me, i’m here almost every other day—just without my girlfriend—who i’m actually here to see,” she raises a finger, forearms leaning forward over the desk. randy feigns indifference, and opts to stuff the last of his bar in his mouth.

“you’re not a resident here, ellie. sorry, but you know the rules.”

“how about you shove the rules up your a—actually, that’s alright. my buddy right here will sign me in as a guest.” she grins devilishly at the dark haired man across the lobby, blinking once, twice, before flashing him a smile.

“jesse! my life saver, my best-friend, my messiah, my—“

“what do you want, ellie?” he rolls his eyes, pulling out his student keycard to flash randy. ellie purses her lips as if she’s been found out, then pulls jesse aside by the cloth of his jacket. she leans in real close so that what she says is out of earshot.

“sign me in as a guest and i’ll give you free weed during your next visit,” she bargains, wiggling her brows like she knows the offer is too good to pass up. jesse doesn’t answer her right away. instead, opts to tease her. puts his index finger on his chin, and opens his stance as if he’s really mulling it over. ellie’s not impressed.

a beat, then, he shrugs, mumbling a quick ‘better keep your word williams’.

ellie grins, something real big and cheshire-like, because she knows him. who’d be stupid enough to pass up free weed? exactly, no one. especially not a stressed college student, that’s for sure.

“thanks man, you’re really doing me a solid, you know,” she pats his back, to which he mutters a knowing ‘yeah, yeah, whatever’. she watches intently as he signs her in under his name, then makes a face at randy when she hands over her student keycard for him to keep.

“see ya later rand’!” the auburn haired girl says with the flick of a hand, turning the corner of the desk to get to the elevators.

“yeah, whatever.”

. . .

once the elevator comes to a halt on your floor, ellie gives jesse a final thank you before departing. as she walks down the winding hallway, she can’t help but to think the worst. what if you were unconscious? what if you’d been axe-murdered? what if you’d been kidnapped? all very unlikely, she knows, but not impossible.

when her mind sifts through a few more frightening scenarios, she realizes she’s already made it to your door. should she knock? she feels like she should knock, but then she figures if all her previous attempts to wake you up were unsuccessful, then who’s to say a few measly knocks would do the trick?

she decides against it. instead, she unhooks her carabiner from her jeans and fiddles around with her set of keys until she finds the spare you’d given her. until now, she’d never used it. the day you’d given it to her, you’d told her it was strictly for ‘emergencies’, and what better time to use it than now? this was surely an emergency, right?

the door unlocks and she immediately goes to twist the knob, pushes the door open and then shuts it closed behind her.

“babe, you here?” she calls out, walking through the kitchen, “you alive?” turns down the hall, “you in one piece?”

a beat. silence—save for the heavy padding of her boots as she makes her way towards your bedroom. the door is cracked open, just by a sliver, but she can see—or at least somewhat make out—the beginnings of a sleeping silhouette.

she pushes the door open and ambles to your bedside. you were fast asleep. curled up into a tight little ball with the duvet pulled up to your chin, and a mean little pout on your lips. it was adorable, and it made ellie’s heart twang with relief. at least now that she was able to verify your safety, she could forget all those terrible thoughts that she was getting herself all worked up over.

“hey, sweet girl,” she cooed, brushing the pad of her thumb over your cheek. your brows cinched in response, but you didn’t move. not even an inch. “baby,” ellie drawled in a sing-song voice.

she let her hand fall from your cheek to your back, and she rubbed it in slow, steady circles in an attempt to rouse you. after a while of this—a combination of her rubbing and cooing—you started to react.

“mmm,” you groaned, curling your knees up higher, “it hurts.”

“what hurts? what’s wrong?” opening your eyes, you were able to pair the voice of concern with a familiar face.

“ellie? what are you doing here?”

she lets a small chuckle escape her lips, then raises a hand to rest atop your head.

“what am i doing here? what are you doing here? had me worried sick about you,” she smooths a hand over your head, “missed our breakfast date.”

sighing, you slap a clammy hand over your head, then reach over ellie to grab your phone from the nightstand.

ten messages. three missed calls.

“god, i’m sorry, bellie. took some midol and melatonin last night so that i could beat these cramps, but i guess they worked a little too good, huh?”

“yeah, you nut.” she takes a glance at your nightstand and picks up the bottle of pills, shakes them around before settling them back down. “how many did you take?”

“just two…maybe three?” ellie’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“three? babe, these are 500 mg. why would you do that? the bottle says take two every six hours, and here you are taking more than the recommended amount, on top of taking melatonin,” she chides, though, it’s more out of genuine concern than it is her actually being upset.

you laugh at your own expense, but it’s short-lived because a second later, you’re clutching for your belly and writhing in pain.

ellie sighs, kicks her boots off and fully climbs up onto the bed and under the covers. once she settles into a comfortable position, she pulls you into her side.

“i know, baby, let me take care of you,” she strokes your back soothingly, “but next time, please don’t take that much. were you planning on sleeping forever?”

“maybe.” you jest, snuggling further into her warmth. admittedly, mixing both of those drugs was kind of stupid—maybe really stupid, but in your defense, you were in pain!—and really desperate. when you have cramps this bad, sometimes death sounds like mercy.

“oh, yeah?” the laugh she lets out is a deep rumble, and you can feel the vibrations of it as you lay on her chest. it’s soothing. a remedy that you should’ve utilized sooner, and you would’ve, had you been in the right headspace.

“mhm…” you purr, looking up at her, at her lips. ellie scans your face for pain, then dips down and pilfers a kiss from your lips. it’s slow, and sweet, and ends far too soon for your liking. before she can pull away, you tug her by the collar of her shirt. look up at her with pleading eyes, and fist it tighter between your knuckles.

“more,” you drawl, pulling her back down to meet your lips. she indulges you, because of course she does, and pushes you onto your back.

“thought,” a kiss, “your,” another, “cramps were bothering you?” she queries, breathless as she holds herself up above your sprawled out body. she thumbs with the hem of your shirt, waits expectantly for you to answer.

“they are,” you say, “so why don’t you make ‘em go away?”

and what kind of girlfriend would she be if did otherwise?

© arachine 2023

[epictay]

teirlist of all the ii cast and episodes

all the characters, now imma try and keep this very brief but tissues is my favourite character no I'm not kidding I love this man so much yes I voted for him in 2021 yes I screamed and cried at his death no I won't say why I love him so much that's lore for later, the characters that are just like me fr fr should just tell you who i am as a person fan is literally just me im autistic and brain has said that he is at this point hell I have a replie from him years ago that says so, mephone 4... that's personal but his protrale really makes me think, apple is me fr fr to because I'm awful at spelling, same reason I like fan is the same for lightbulb and the floor, goo is just me all the time, bot is just me so badly, the characters I adore I still love these guys they just aren't me sadly rip 4s I cried when he appearing in the finally of season 3, no I'm still not over his death ii crew bring him back please I'm on my hands and nees the rest are self explanatory I've never really liked marshmallow she's fine I don't like oj no I'm not explaining why he knows what he did... never liked cabby and fuck silver spoon I hate him so much he gets his own teir because no words can describe how much i hate him when he appeared in episodec 17 I screamed fuck em

NOW here me out, some of seaosn 1 is ok in my books the first half is awful unwatchable for frame of reference I first watched ii at 3am 4 years ago, would not recommend it is a trip in a half episode 12 is a weird favourite of mine.. don't ask why same with 14 now season 2 there is no questioning what's the best like you would have to be insane to not put anything after 10 high, episode 8 is a personal favourite it makes me laugh so hard it's the funniest to me and it always will, episode 11 will never be topped in my opinion it is legendary and that elimation, its just chefs kiss like they can never top it again season 3, most of the episodes I hate have silver as the main focus, may I say more I've made my views on him very clear, episode 3 is my absolute favourite it's so funny and yall are sleeping on it it's the funniest thing ever made for ii anyways for the recorder these are my opinions and ye (: goodnight

[shikai-the-storyteller]

QSMP PURGATORY FINALE

Liveblogging Phil's POV - Part 3

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 ]

I really enjoy the post-Purgatory VC chats the Islanders have with each other.

Foolish saying it’d be upsetting if this was all a dream, BASED. THAT TROPE SUCKS.

BAGHERA SAYING SHE STAYED WITH THE EGGS, IM SUFFERING

Everyone saying how much they loved Purgatory, meanwhile Phil’s just sitting there like:

Ok good they're being honest about it now LMAO I was about to be like "YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO DIE MULTIPLE TIMES, LET'S BE HONEST ABOUT THIS."

Slime: Maybe the real Purgatory was the friends that died in the nuclear blast along the way. Pftttt

Etoiles and Mouse saying they won’t play if they have to do Purgatory again, BASED AS FRICKIN HELL, I RESPECT YOUUUUUUU

LMAO Not them talking about Pomme surviving a nuclear bomb because she has 2 lives. Pomme is just built different, fr.

I don’t think the Eggs are dead simply because Quackity said they aren’t getting rid of the Eggs, and also The Admins Are Not Stupid

FIT COMING OUT OF LEFT FIELD WITH THAT BURN LMFAOOO MAN WAS SILENT FOR LIKE 20 MINUTES AND THEN UNMUTED TO BURN TUBBO

Phil please, you should know by now your friends are stupid when it comes to leaking things LMAO

Hell yeah, that Elytra lasso moment with Tubbo was sick as hell.

Man, I can’t wait to see the fanart from today.

Alright it's stupid o'clock in the morning and my liveblogging is, as always, completely unproofed gut reactions that I don't reread, so I look forward to rereading these notes I took running off of 4 hours of sleep. Goodnight.

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 ]

[gamerbearmira]

Hi, I'm the anon who wrote the thing about de aged Bruno, and I wrote some notes about his first night after being de-aged.

-That evening after dinner, Alma took Bruno up to her room to get him to sleep.

-There were some clothes that would fit him as well as other baby things in a dresser by her closet that had appeared after they realized that Bruno was de aged. 

-Alma quickly changed her son while talking & humming to him

-After that, she left him in the middle of the bed and went into the bathroom to get herself changed. 

-Once she quickly finished, and saw that Bruno was still ok, she went to her closet and pulled out a small chest. Inside this chest was a whole bunch of her children’s old clothes and items from over the course of their lives that they no longer needed or wanted, but she had kept - her children's baby blankets included. 

-Pulling out Bruno’s green blanket, she closed the chest and quickly walked back over to Bruno as casita bounced the chest back into the closet.

-As she wrapped him up in the blanket, her hijas walked in to check on them because they had noticed their mother looking worried at Bruno as she had come up tonight.

-Deciding to be honest with Julieta and Pepa, Alma told them about Bruno’s struggles the first time he was a baby, how small & weak he had been and how he always did better when he had slept with his Hermana's. All four of them were trying not to cry at the story, especially Bruno because he didn’t want them to start fussing over him again - like they had been doing all day. 

-Julieta & Pepa did notice how Bruno seemed to be breathing a little raspier than earlier of course, & the whole family had noticed how Bruno had seemed to become paler throughout this first day of him being a baby again. 

-The candle heard this, and transformed the cradle in the room into a medium sized bed. 

-Seeing this, Julieta suggested that Pepa, Bruno and her should sleep on the newly transformed bed together, which the others quickly agreed to. 

-Bruno let out a small squeak at this, which the others translated as him being tired & not him not being sure about this, since they didn’t think that he remembered anything.

-So, picking Bruno up from her mothers arms after she kissed him goodnight, Pepa climbed into the bed after her hermana. 

-They quickly got settled with Bruno between them, and with one arm each over his chest. Saying goodnight to their mama, they quietly began to whisper to him about how much they loved him, and talk to each other about random things from their childhood that they remembered. 

-Safely snuggled between his sisters, Bruno couldn’t help but to fall asleep to the sound of their voices washing over him, feeling better already. Julieta and Pepa fell asleep not too long after.

(this has less Bruno POV than I had originally intended lol)

THEY’RE SO SILLAY I LOB THEM <\\\33333

Bruno can’t even say nun 😨 Alma sitting there describing how he was small and sickly and it worried her and. He can’t even reassure her. THAT’S SO SAD 😞 no but. Fr Fr. When Pepa and Julieta offered to sleep with Bruno that night I SOBBED THEY’RE SOOOOOOOO…WHAT. <333 Gotta give props to Alma either, she stepped up, NO hesitation, and we love that.

Me when they,

[walterdecourceys]

goodnight :)

[frostbitesjc]

it's 4am, my life is in shambles, and I decide to do nothing but lie on my bed and scroll through the satosugu tag

[lunatens]

i just want 2 give joshua hong a big fat hug pls and thank u❤️

[theyrejustbehindtheveil]

ML Secret Santa 2020

Hi @stockered, i come bearing your gift for this years @mlsecretsanta. Happy Holidays!

[Read on AO3]

It is a known fact that ladybugs hibernate over the winter. It is also a known fact that they spend the winter huddled in groups for warmth. A fact less widely bandied about is that holders of the miraculous tend to develop traits in common with their animal namesakes over time. (Adrien’s fingernails are incredibly sharp these days. As are his teeth. He keeps biting his tongue. ow ).

It is three days after the weather starts to turn cold and grey in Paris that Alya pokes her head up into Marinette’s room and is almost smothered by a falling pile of wool that topples directly onto her head.

“Mhrbthghmph,” says Alya, which would have been a shout of “Marinette!”, if it wasn’t for the falling pile of wool.

“What the fuck?” she says, once all the wool has tumbled past her to thump its way down to the floor below.

“Alya?” comes the slightly muffled response.

She can hear Marinette’s voice, but she can’t see her. Then, after a moment, the pile of blankets heaped on Marinette’s bed shifts and then falls away to let Marinette’s head poke free.

“You okay under there, Mari?”

Marinette shifts slightly further upright with a grumble. “It’s cooold, Alya,” she whines.

Alya blinks in slight surprise. Even though it is a bit cold outside, Marinette’s room, being both at the top of the house and above the bakery ovens, is definitely warmer than the outside weather. Even so, Marinette has built herself a blanket nest and is curled up underneath it.

Alya shakes off her slight confusion. Odd as it is, Marinette does look incredibly cosy. She drops her bag on the floor, resigning herself to the fact that they probably won’t be going out like they’d planned. She shucks her coat onto the floor. “I’m coming in. Brace yourself, girl,” she says, before dropping on top of Marinette with a gentle fwump . Marinette’s giggle is slightly muffled, but Alya can hear it clearly, and smiles as she pulls out her phone, and gets comfortable.

______________________________________________________________________

Marinette is late again. She lives so close and yet according to Nino, she hasn’t gone a week since starting lycée without being late at least once.

Today, she is later than usual, and the weather outside is cold and grey and Mme Bustier is already rummaging on her desk for the roll. She glances worriedly at the door, and then relaxes slightly at the sound of hurrying footsteps approaching the classroom. Marinette rounds the edge of the doorway, and Alya grins at her, before she notices her outfit.

Marinette has slowly been adding more and more layers for the trip to school, and today, Alya can see at least three jumpers layered under her coat.

“Marinette, so nice of you to join us,” Mme. Bustier says.

Marinette grimaces as she takes her seat. “Sorry, Mme. Bustier.”

Alya leans over to Marinette as Mme. Bustier turns away. “Trouble getting out of bed?”

“My bed is warm and the outside is so so cooold, Alya,” she whines as she tugs her books out of her bag. She tugs the cuffs of her top jumper over her hands and huddles down into the scarf she hasn’t taken off yet.

Alya laughs, before they have to turn and start the lesson, but as Marinette’s attention is turned towards the font of the classroom, she frowns in concern. It is cold, but surely its not so cold as to warrant so many layers.

______________________________________________________________________

Ice is crystallizing on Marinettes window when she lands on her balcony with a shiver. Winter is finally making its presence known with a vengeance, and it’s making everything generally even more unpleasant. Worst of all are the late night akuma fights. She’s convinced that both her and Chat are going to turn into icicles by the western new year.

She drops her transformation reluctantly, and feels Tikki make a beeline to tuck herself under the scarf she’d pulled on in a hurry before leaving for the akuma fight earlier that afternoon. She fumbles the catch of the window lock slightly in the cold, before tumbling gratefully into her much warmer bedroom.

She shucks her outer layers off onto the floor and burrows quickly under her blankets before grabbing her phone off the shelf above her pillow. She flicks quickly to the messaging app that Tikki had managed to magic onto her phone, same as the one on her yoyo. Just like after every other akuma, Chat has left her a message.

CN: ❄❄❄❄😠

She grins.

LB: IDK how you got emojis on this thing, kitty, but i agree

CN: I bribed Plagg. He’ll do almost anything for extra stinky cheese 🧀 .

Marinette curls further under her doona with a grin. She rubs the cold tip of her nose before tapping out a reply.

LB: urgh, i’d like to make hawkmoth fight these akuma’s in the cold, see how he likes it >:(

CN: Take away his space heater!

LB: cut the power to his evil lair!!

CN: Cataclysfkdnflgm

Marinette stares at her phone, befuddled by his response.

LB: ?????

LB: chat??

She frowns in concern when he still doesn’t respond

LB: you ok chat?

CN: Sorry! Plagg surprised me and I dropped my phone!

LB: urgh, we should be going to sleep, i have class so early in the morning.

CN: Me too 😔 .

Marinette sighs, tapping out one final message as she huddles down into her blankets.

LB: goodnight, chat

CN: Goodnight, My Lady.

After plugging her phone in for the night, she curls gratefully under the warmth of her doona. This winter feels particularly cold, and she can’t help a shiver at the thought of it getting colder than it already is.

______________________________________________________________________

Alya bursts into the classroom accompanied by a flurry of cold air and a slightly manic grin. She goes to take her seat next to Marinette, only to find Marinette’s usual seat occupied by Nino.

And then she looks closer, and sees that curled in next to Nino is a bundle of winter wear topped by Marinette’s dark hair. She takes her seat next to the pair of them, and watches in fascination as Marinette appears to try and become one with Nino’s puffer jacket.

“Is Mari okay?”

“I think she’s just really super cold, dude.”

Adrien sticks his head over the desk in front of Nino. “He was talking to Kim, and she grabbed him on his way past before he could sit down.”

Alya chuckles. “It’s not even that cold, Mari,” she says, reaching out to tweak the end of Marinette’s pigtail. “Give her here, Nino.”

Nino sighs gently, “Cmon, dude. It’s Alya’s turn for snuggles,” he coaxes, as he gently lever’s Marinette off his side. It takes a minute before she’s detached enough that Nino can tip her into Alya’s side. The moment Marinette makes contact with Alya’s shoulder, she lets out a little sigh and burrows into Alya’s side.

Adrien grins at the pair of them, before his smile softens as he looks at Marinette. Alya suppresses a gleeful grin at his expression. He keeps looking at Marinette even as he addresses Alya. “I’ll lend her my notes, Alya. I’ll email them over after I get home.”

He turns back around as Nino takes his seat and Mme. Bustier claps to call everyone’s attention to the front of the classroom to start taking the roll.

______________________________________________________________________

The winter holidays started five days ago, and Alya is already missing her friends. It's really getting too cold to go out chasing akuma fights (loath as she is to concede), and the grey mornings light up streets edged by slush. According to the texts they've been sending each other, Marinette has barely left the house since school ended, because “its to coold to be outside, alyaa :(“ . She’s a bit worried about her bestie, honestly. Even Nino, who’s known her for years, says she never used to seem this sensitive to the cold weather.

Luckily, Alya has a cunning plan.

Her phone lights up with a bunch of texts from Nino

BF 🐢 : adrien-napping a success

BF 🐢 : operation Blanket Pile™ is a go!

BF 🐢 : just getting snacs, and we are on our way

BF 🐢 : adrien has the blankets

BF 🐢 : eta 10 💙

Alya smiles at her phone, then hefts her bag and starts walking towards Marinette’s.

Als ❤️ : omw jst laeving park nw will wait fr u outside side dorr maris parents kno were cming see u soon xo babe ❤️

It’s not long before she sees the pair approach from the direction of the lycée . Nino is bouncing along as he talks excitedly with Adrien, who has both his hands full managing a slightly teetering stack of blankets. As they approach, Alya stretches up on her toes to wave at them.

Nino grins as they join her at the door. Adrien, in contrast, offers a shy smile and hangs back a little, as though unsure of his welcome. She knows he’s been to see Marinette before, he has no reason to be shy about it, but Nino seems unconcerned, so Alya turns to open the door so they can all go inside.

The bakery is warm, and Alya can see Tom at the counter, gregarious and entertaining for the customers. Sabine is keeping an eye on the ovens from in the back as they pass, and Alya waves to her as their little group goes by. They have to take their shoes off at the top of the stairs, which almost causes an incident when Adrien tries to take off his shoes without first handing over his blanket burden. Luckily, his balance is as good as Marinette’s is bad, and he rights himself and his blanket stack without stacking it or dropping anything.

Nino leads the way to Marinette’s room and shouts up the stairs with glee.

“Marinette, dude!” he announces. “Can we come up? We have blankets!”

“And snacks!” Alya adds.

There’s a slight thump, which means Marinette probably just fell off of her desk chair again. Or maybe dropped a textbook. The trapdoor lifts and her head pokes over the edge of the hole at the top of the stairs. She’s braided her hair over one shoulder today, almost certainly because she didn’t expect visitors. The plait is falling apart a little, loose strands falling free and messy. She tucks some behind one ear as she grins at them, and Adrien lets out a small squeak from beside Alya at the gesture.

“What are you guys doing here?” Marinette exclaims.

“We have come to bury you in blankets!” Alya calls. “Also, we missed hanging out with you, girl.”

Marinette laughs. “I’ll never say no to blankets.” Even in the warmth of her room, she’s clearly wearing at least one jumper. “Come in!”

They all troop up the stairs, and Alya looks around the room, noticing that the blankets seem to be multiplying in here.

“Right. Let’s get this blanket party started,” she says, and Adrien and Nino set to building the ultimate blanket nest in the middle of the floor as she bounds up to Marinette and pulls her into a tight hug. Marinette lets out a slight squeak by her left ear, before sighing gently and melting into the hug.

“Mmm, you're so warm, Alya,” she mumbles.

Alya chuckles and leads her over to the blankets, Adrien and Nino already buried in the layers. “Mandatory friendship cuddles are even warmer.” she says, settling Marinette next to Adrien before plopping down next to her and swaddling blankets around them both.

It ends, as it sort of began, in a pile of blankets and the warmth of friendship and bakery ovens. Marinette falls asleep fairly soon after, her head buried Alya’s shoulder and her arm curled around Adrien. The rest of them talk the afternoon quietly away as snow starts to drift down outside. Alya tucks one arm around Nino and watches fondly as Adrien curls into Marinette.

It is, after all, a perfect afternoon.

FINIS

[eddiesasspbrak]

Carnival Games

Eddie sneaks out to attend the annual carnival with his friends and meets someone he hadn't been expecting.

A request from @caleigh-rayne hope this is what you were looking for!

Requests currently open for most IT ships

Read on AO3

4k+ words

Throughout Eddie’s life, he’d been denied the enjoyment of many things. He’d never been to a classmate’s birthday party. He’d ridden a bike once and when he fell off one time his mom sold it. He’d never been roller skating, skateboarding, ice skating or climbed a tree. He’d had chances to do many things in secret, but his mother’s warnings were drilled so far into his brain that her voice would come out every time he even thought about it. One thing he was definitely not allowed to do, was attend the annual fair.

He’d always wanted to go. They’d drive by it every year and he’d see the rides, the games and the food that smelled sinfully delicious when he’d roll his window down just a bit. He’d see the other kids running around, playing and lining up with their friends, excitement on their faces and practically vibrating off of them. Every year he asked his mom to let him go, and every year it was, “no son of mine will associate with carnies.” Or, “those rides are dangerous and the people who run them don’t care if they’re up to safety regulations.” Or his personal favorite, “they skewer dead rats on a stick, dunk them in batter and then deep fry them and sell them as food. Is that what you want Eddie? To eat a rat?”

Eddie knew it was all bullshit. His friends went every year, and nothing ever happened to them. Other than a stomachache from eating too much or Ben puking after riding a roller coaster. Eddie would love to experience it all - the good and the bad. Bev would always bring back a stuffed toy she’d won for him and Mike would sneak him a soft pretzel when they’d stop by afterward to check on him.

The summer of their seventeenth year, when the heat was at its peak and the haze of summer was setting in, the fair came the town once more. Eddie sat on his porch with his three friends, watching families with young children go by headed to the fair when it was more child friendly. All the kids he saw were excited, bouncing along holding their parents’ hands and smiling brighter than the sun. It just made Eddie sad.

“Come on, Eddie. Sneak out and come with this year.” Bev was saying in a hushed voice in case his mother was close by. The windows that lined the front porch sat open to let any gentle breeze pass through the sweltering house.

“I can’t. If she finds my bed empty, she’ll call the police. She’s done it before, and I was just in the bathroom.”

“Slip her a sleeping pill.”

“I’m not going to drug my mother so I can go to a fair.”

Bev shrugged and instinctively reached for her pocket, stopping herself when she remembered where she was and wiping her hand down over her denim jeans instead. All of her friends knew she smoked, but if Sonia got even a whiff of smoke, she’d ban Eddie from seeing his friends ever again and would search every inch of his room for cigarettes. The one time Bev had shown up smelling of smoke she’d had to quickly come up with a lie about a group of unruly teens that she’d had to walk by. Sonia hated them all and looked for any excuse to banish them, but she’d bought it anyway.

“Can’t you say your staying at my place tonight?” Ben asked, his eyes leaving Bev for the first time in ten minutes.

“She’ll suspect something. She knows the fair is in town.” Eddie sighed.

“What about mine? The farm is far enough away from the fair that it should be ok, right?” Mike asked.

“Nah, she’ll just come up with a reason to keep me away from farm animals. It’s useless guys. One more year until I’m free and then I can go to as many fairs as I want.”

All of his friends could practically see into the future, his rebellious phase an inevitable as soon as he was out from under Sonia’s constant supervision. They often wondered if Eddie would continue to talk to his mother at all when he was eighteen and away from home. He’d learned long ago that she didn’t have his best interest at heart. She just wanted to control him, keep him from enjoying life and getting a taste of what life could be without her. It was going to happen, and that day was approaching fast, so her hold got even tighter.

Eddie’s friends left when Sonia called him inside to help with dinner. He waved goodbye and watched them head down the street. They’d go to Ben’s and wait for it to get dark before heading to the fair. He wished with all of his being to go with them. Inside, his mother was in the kitchen, listening to the radio and cutting up vegetables for a stir-fry. Eddie joined her, stirring the bit of chicken in the pan on the stove. The rice cooker sat on the countertop, steam coming from the lid and making the air just a little bit hotter.

As soon as the food was done, Sonia made her way to the living room with her plate, where she liked to eat in front of the TV. Sometimes Eddie joined her, but he didn’t much want to be in her presence at the moment. If it weren’t for her, he’d be going to have fun with his friends. The sun was just barely beginning to dip in the sky, casting purple across the clouds. They wouldn’t have left yet.

“Eddiebear, will you fetch me a scoop of ice cream?” Sonia called from the living room when she’d finished her meal.

Reluctantly, Eddie mumbled back a “sure” and dumped his plate in the sink on his way to the freezer. The blast of cold from inside was enough to cool Eddie down for a second. He reached up into a cabinet to grab a bowl and his eyes fell to the cabinet door beside him. The cabinet that held all of their combined medication, fake and real. “Slip her a sleeping pill.” Bev’s voice echoed in his head.

It wouldn’t be so bad, right? She took sleeping pills all the time. Just one wouldn’t hurt her. Peeking over his shoulder, into the living room, he could see her slipper covered feet dangling off the recliner but knew she couldn’t see him. Slowly as he could, careful to not make any sound, he opened the cabinet and pulled down the little orange bottle. He shook out one, putting the bottle back in its place exactly as he’d found it. He went about scooping the ice cream like normal, topping it with the sprinkles she liked to mask any grittiness. Using the back of the spoon, he pressed on the pill until it broke in half. The sound of the TV masked the little click it made as it broke. From there he kept pressing it with the spoon into smaller and smaller pieces.

When it resembled a powder, Eddie scrapped it off the counter and into the spoon, sprinkling it on top and then mixing it and the sprinkles into the cold dessert. For a final touch, he added whipped cream and a single maraschino cherry. He quickly cleaned the counter, wiping away any evidence, and put everything back where it belonged.

She smiled at him as he carried the bowl in. “Oh, Eddiebear you spoil me!” She gushed.

He forced a smile and made up an excuse about it being too hot and wanting to go to bed early. He said goodnight and ran to his room, shutting the door behind him. He changed his clothes into something more fair appropriate. Denim shorts that went halfway down his thigh, a t-shirt with blue and white stripes and a small breast pocket, a pair of tennis shoes and a sweatshirt tied around his waist incase it got cold. He waited anxiously for forty minutes. Enough time for her to finish her dessert and the pills to make her tired.

As quietly as he possibly could, he snuck down the stairs and peeked into the living room. Sonia was still in her chair, the TV playing but she was fast asleep. He knew they worked quick on her, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. But the sun was rapidly setting, and his friends would head out soon. Making sure he had his keys and wallet he locked the door behind him and dashed down the street. The air was hot, but the wind going past his face as he ran felt like freedom. He wasn’t supposed to run because of his supposed asthma, but he could run fast and for long distances and never have a problem. Besides, he was breaking the rules tonight.

When he arrived at Ben’s house, he could see the retreating shapes of his friends just a little ways away. Smile on his face, he called out to them, earning a startled reaction.

“Eddie, what the hell are you doing here?” Mike asked.

“I’m going to the fair with you guys.” He said between heavy breathing, catching his breath from the run.

“No fucking way!” Bev beamed. “We finally get to pop your carnival cherry. How did you get your mom to agree?”

“She didn’t…exactly…”

“Oh Eddie, you didn’t.” Ben frowned.

“I wasn’t thinking and before I knew it, she was eating ice cream with a sleeping pill in it.” He confessed.

“Ignore him. I’m proud of you.” Bev said, nudging Bens’ side with her elbow.

“She’ll be ok, right?” Eddie asked nervously.

“How many did you give her?”

“One. The dosage on the prescription she has is one and she hadn’t taken any before that.”

“Then she’ll be fine.” Bev reassured, grabbing his hand and then Ben’s. “Come on, let’s go.”

Being dragged along, Eddie reached out and grabbed hold of Mike’s hand as well, grounding himself to reality, his friends like a tether tied to his wrists. Everything would be ok. He just had to keep walking. Tonight, he was free.

It wasn’t a long walk to the fairgrounds given how small the town was. By the time they got there, the sun was all but gone beyond the horizon, orange and yellow painting the sky at the edges. Soon it would be dark. They passed by the fence around the edge of the grounds and immediately they were engulfed in the festivities.

Eddie felt a bit overwhelmed by the lights, sounds and smells but the excitement was buzzing off of him in waves. Bev’s hand is his seemed to keep him calm as she dragged him through the crowd and toward the ticket booth. Every year they saved up for months so they could go on the rides as often as they wanted, eat as much fried food as their stomachs could fit and play enough games to go home with at least one cheap, useless bobble.

With enough tickets to satisfy their adrenaline cravings, they set off to a slow ride to ease Eddie into it. He’d never been on a Ferris wheel and it was the slowest ride they offered, aside from the rides meant for small children. The line was short and mostly full of couples. Eddie offered to ride alone with Mike so Beverly and Ben could ride together, but they insisted they wanted to be there for his first ride. When it was their turn, all four crammed into the seat, the bar coming down over their laps. Eddie sat in the middle with Bev, Mike on his other side. Mike mentioned to the operator that it was his first ride and the guy winked at him. Eddie looked at Mike, wondering what kind of exchange he’d just witnessed.

As the ride started up, Eddie’s stomach did a little flip. He wouldn’t get sick. He wouldn’t freak out or be afraid. He was going to enjoy this if it was the last thing he did. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his mother’s voice from his head and looked out at the world in front of him as they began to rise into the air. Beverly reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing his fingers.

Eddie’s eyes were fixed on the view in front of him. Everything looked so small below him and he could see all the way to the edge of the town, or at least close to it. When they reached the top, the ride came to a stop, their seat rocking back and forth. His friends all looked at his face, smiling expectantly.

“What do you think?” Ben asked, looking across Bev to see him.

“The town looks so small from up here.” He said.

“The town is small.” Bev reminded him.

“Yea but I mean…even smaller than that. It’s pretty though. All the lights.”

“This is just the beginning.” Mike grinned, putting an arm around Eddie’s shoulders and squeezing.

After the Ferris wheel, they took him on the bumper cars and then the spinning apples. Every ride getting faster and preparing him for the rollercoaster. He was nervous in line, staring up at the little cars speeding over the tracks, but as soon as they were seated and things started moving, he was all excitement. Cheering and whooping loudly, laughing and throwing his hands in the air alongside Bev. All these years, this is what he’d been missing. He really did feel free.

After a few more rides, they took a break for food. Fried Oreos were disgusting and amazing at the same time. Eddie had never had a hotdog that tasted so good, covered in ketchup, mustard and onions. The elephant ear was sweet enough to rot his teeth and he loved it. He never knew before that cotton candy actually melted on your tongue. Full of food and needing a break before tackling anymore rides, they dragged him to the games. Balloon pop, basketball, shooting cans with a toy rifle, spraying water into a plastic clown’s mouth to fill the balloon on top of its head. Eddie was terrible at all of them, but he was having fun trying. Bev told him they were rigged anyway, making them hard to win.

Mike and Ben had separated to find a bathroom, leaving Bev and Eddie to walk arm in arm around the fairgrounds that used to be a church parking lot. They avoided classmates they recognized, watched others play the games and talked about the potential danger he was in for drugging his mom. As long as she didn’t realize he’d done it and gone to the fair, it would be ok. Bev was preparing to break him out if he was caught and locked in his room indefinitely.

They were joking about hiding him in the clubhouse Ben built when they were younger, when a ruckus over by one of the games caught their attention. A boy who they both recognized from school was sat up on the seat above the water in swim trunks and shirtless. A boy they knew from the soccer team, Chet, was lined up in front of the target, a baseball in his hand. He seemed to be concentrating and wound up to throw only for the boy above the tank to call you “Oh yea, look at that form!” When the ball left his fingers, he flinched, missing the target entirely.

“Better luck next time Chet, my boy! I guess this is why you’re on the soccer team and not the baseball team!” He yelled as Chet angrily walked away, flipping him off.

Bev and Eddie would know that smart mouth anywhere. Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier was known in the school for his fantastic academics but his horrible ability to keep his mouth shut. He’d gotten in trouble for talking in class and making jokes more than anyone else in the history of the school. They didn’t know him personally, but it was hard not to know who he was.

The next guy stepped up, Nicholas Monroe, most popular boy in school and number one Richie Tozier anti-fan. His girlfriend, Missy Jones, was on his arm and both were smiling and looking confident. Everyone watching could tell that he was determined to sink Richie. To sink the Trashmouth and use it as material to make fun of him for weeks, maybe months.

“If it isn’t Nick.” Richie grinned. “Come to show off your skills at handling balls?”

“Shut the fuck up Tozier.” He said, winding up with the first ball and throwing it as hard as he could. It smacked the tarp hanging behind it, missing the target by a few inches.

“Oh, nice try Nicky but you need to hit that big red circle over there.”

“I said shut up, Trashmouth!” He angrily threw the second, missing again.

“Getting a little feisty there aren’t we. Bet that’s why you like him, huh Missy?”

She giggled, her cheeks coloring pink, but stopped as soon as Nick looked at her angrily, a shy smile still lingering. With the last ball he’d paid for in hand, he gripped it tight and squinted his eyes as if trying to focus his sight only on the target. Once more, he threw the ball, this one coming the closest but still hitting above the target instead of on it. He cursed, balling his hands into fists.

“Sorry Nick, you can’t make me wet. You’re just not my type.” Richie winked.

“I’m gonna kick your ass the next time I see you, Trashmouth.” Nick put his arm around Missy and dragged her away, though she looked over his shoulder at Richie as they left.

Eddie and Bev were laughing, enjoying the way Richie made these boys feel stupid with just a few words. Of course, he was likely to pay for it later. He wasn’t a stranger to being beat up for saying the wrong things. He still had the remnants of a healing black eye behind his glasses. It didn’t help that every girl in school seemed to be attracted to him, taken or not. Except maybe Bev who only had eyes for Ben.

Eddie could understand why. He’d had his sexual awakening years ago and Richie was definitely a part of realizing his sexuality. He’d always been too afraid to talk to him. Bev kind of knew him because he was a smoker as well and hung around the bleachers by the field between classes. He’d wanted to ask Bev to take him with her on a smoke break so he could at least stare at him for a bit, but he never did.

With the line momentarily empty, Richie looked around at the crowd, hoping to goad someone else into trying to sink him. His eyes landed on Bev and Eddie, whispering to one another and laughing and his face lit up with a smile.

“Well, well, Ms. Marsh I see you’ve dumped Benny boy for a new piece of arm candy. This one isn’t as buff but definitely cuter.” Richie called out to them.

Eddie felt warmth wash over him but wasn’t sure if it was from the hot summer air or Richie’s words. With their arms still linked, Bev dragged Eddie close to the dunk tank so she could talk to Richie.

“Hey there, Trashmouth. Didn’t know you were working here.” Bev greeted him, leaning against the top of the tank.

“Picking up some extra summer cash. It’s an easy gig and only a few people actually manage to hit the target. I’m starting to wish they would. It's hot as hell out here.”

“Seems you're enjoying yourself. We’ve been watching for a while. Aren’t you worried you’ll get your ass kicked?”

Richie shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” He looked from Bev to Eddie, who had been looking up at him since they walked over. “Gonna introduce me to your friend?”

Bev pulled her arm from Eddie’s and placed her hand on top of his head. “This cutie pie is Eddie Kaspbrak. Eddie, Richie.” She introduced them.

“Hey Eddie. Wanna take a chance at getting me wet?” Richie asked, tilting his chin up.

If Eddie wasn’t already blushing, he was now. “I don’t think I’ll be any good.” He said in a small voice, hoping Richie could still hear him.

“You sure? You’re small but I bet you’ve got power in those arms.”

“I...I don’t know.”

“Come on, Eddie. Give it a go.” Bev nudged him. “It’s only a dollar a ball.”

Eddie chewed his bottom lip. He wanted to try but he also didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Richie. Leaning down, Richie put his elbow on his knee and lowered his voice.

“Tell you what, we’ll make it interesting. If you win, I’ll do one thing just for you. Anything you want.”

“And if I lose?”

“You have to give me your number.”

“What? W-why would you want my number?” Eddie stuttered, his heart pounding in his chest.

“I’ll tell you if you win.” He winked.

Feeling like his skin was abuzz, Eddie paid the three dollars and took the baseballs from the attendant. He could feel Richie’s eyes burning into him as he stepped up to the line. His hands were sweating, and he tried not to drop the ball before even throwing it. His first throw missed, hitting too low.

“Oh, so close Eds. Two more to go!” Richie called.

Eddie’s breath hitched at the nickname, making him throw the second ball too far to the right. Bev patted him on the shoulder, giving him some encouragement. Taking a deep breath, he rolled the last ball between his hands. He kept his eyes on the target as he threw it, hitting the target right in the center. The seat beneath Richie collapsed, dropping him into the cold water below. Water splashed out over the edge and Bev whooped and hollered, wrapping her arms around Eddie’s shoulders. The attendant handed him a small purple bunny.

Turning back to the tank, they saw Richie coming up from under the water at the edge closest to them, his glasses in his hand. He ran his other hand over his face to remove the water, before pushing his hair back out of his face. Eddie thought his heart might burst out of his chest at the sight of his long, curly tendrils hanging in his face and dripping water down his neck. His mouth was suddenly full of saliva and he swallowed it down, hoping no one else noticed.

“Guess you win.” Richie said, putting his arms over the edge of the tank, letting water drip from his fingers. “That means I’ve got to grant you one wish.”

Eddie stared up at him, his mouth now going bone dry. He’d agreed to the terms but didn’t actually expect to win. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask of him. Before he got the chance to properly think it over, Mike and Ben were calling out to them, Stan and Bill in tow.

“Hey, look who we found!” Mike said, his arm around Stan’s shoulders.

Stan’s face was flushed, a happy little smile on his lips.

“Bill wants to ride the roller coaster. You guys up for another go?” Ben asked.

“Hell yea.” Bev grinned, grabbing Eddie’s hand and pulling him to follow the others.

Eddie looked back over his shoulder at Richie in time to see him waving goodbye. More rides on the rollercoaster, a few rides on the tilt-a-whirl, and another round of bumper cars with all six of them and they were beat. Bev wanted to get another snack before the fair closed down for the night and Mike wanted to play a few games with Bill and Stan. Eddie stuck with them while B3 went to satisfy Bev’s cravings.

He watched Stan and Mike at the basketball hoops, each attempting to outdo the other. It was obvious to everyone except Mike that Stan was crazy about him and would do anything to get his attention. Eddie couldn’t help laughing at their back and forth, neither one making a single basket. He and his friends were known for being the most athletic. Except perhaps Ben.

When a hand gentle came to rest on his shoulder, Eddie just about jumped out of his skin. His first thought was Beverly, Ben or Bill coming to join them, but when he turned, he found Richie standing there. He was smiling, apologetic for startling him.

“Hey, it’s Eddie, right?” Richie asked.

Eddie nodded his head, suddenly feeling nervous because wow he was ever cuter up close. He was fully clothed now in long cargo shorts, a graphic t-shirt covered by a hideous short sleeve button up and sneakers. His hair was still wet, slicked back and out of his face. Eddie felt a shiver go through him despite the heat.

“Glad I found you. I still owe you one wish for winning earlier.”

Eddie help up the little purple rabbit for him to see. “I already won this from it.”

“Yes, but the rabbit wasn’t a part of the deal. I said I’d do anything you want. So, name your price. Can’t have unfulfilled debts lingering over me now, can I?” His smile was crooked and so charming it made Eddie want to melt.

He searched his brain for anything he could make Richie do. Maybe buy him a soda or a pretzel. But his mind was sinful and suddenly he knew what he wanted; he just couldn’t ask for it. More than anything, he wanted to be kissed by a beautiful boy and Richie was ideal. He’d been kissed before during games of truth or dare and by Jenna Newman in the 6th grade. But he’d never been kissed and at that moment, that was precisely what he wanted.

Feeling brave, the rush of adrenaline that had been pumping through him all night taking over he muttered a “follow me” and took off. Mike and Stan didn’t notice the two boys leaving them, headed toward the edge of the fairgrounds where things were beginning to shut down for the night. It was nearly deserted, only a few people walking by on their way to leave or get one last ride in. Eddie lead Richie behind a stand that had already closed down, leaving the area around it dark.

Cast in shadow, Richie looked down at Eddie curiously, the smile never fully leaving his face.

“What are we doing back here?” He asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Instead of answering with words, Eddie took a step closer, placing his hands on Richie’s chest and looking up at him with half lidded eyes. Richie breathed out a single “Oh” before Eddie was standing on his toes and pressing his lips to Richie’s. Leaning down to meet him halfway, Richie pulled his hands back out from his pocket and cradled the back of Eddie’s head with one, the other trailing down the bac of his neck to his back. Eddie shivered, tilting his head back for a better angle and parting his lips. He didn’t fully know what he was doing, but he knew what he wanted when he licked at Richie’s bottom lip.

Richie opened his mouth slightly, sucking Eddie’s bottom lip between his teeth before diving his tongue into the wet heat of his mouth. Eddie’s head was spinning, the feel of Richie’s tongue, teeth and hands sending him out of his body. He was vaguely aware of the little moans coming from deep in his throat, but he was too far gone to be embarrassed. If he’d known just kissing someone, he was attracted to felt this good, he would have done it a long time ago. Did every kiss feel this good, or was it because it was Richie?

When Richie pulled away, sliding his hand to gently cup Eddie’s cheek, his eyes were shining behind his thick glasses. For the first time, Eddie wondered if maybe he did have asthma as he struggled to catch his breath. Deep down, he somehow knew it was because of Richie.

“I wasn’t expecting that, but I think we both won.” Richie said in a low voice.

“Still want my number?” Eddie asked.

When Eddie and Richie rejoined his friends, who had been looking for him, he apologized for disappearing. He made up a lie about going to get a soda with Richie and sitting to chat for a bit. All six left the fair together, walking home and splitting off one by one. Mike was staying at Stan’s, too tired to drive back to the farm. Richie walked Eddie all the way to his doorstep and said goodnight with a chaste kiss and ruffle of his hair. Eddie watched him leave, leaning against the door and feeling dreamy.

When he snuck back in, his mom was still fast asleep in her chair. Eddie tiptoed up the stairs and kicked off his shoes before collapsing on his best, hugging the little purple bunny close to his chest. He’d gone out wanting freedom and found so much more on the tongue of a Trashmouth.

[rosierocks30]

Hidden: Ch.5

Warning: this chapter has some dark themes. 

Chapter 5: Walking down old memories 

Levi was sitting on a chair looking at his sleeping wife. It has been a crazy day. The captain had been reflecting on the rescue mission earlier. His fears almost became a reality. The thought of losing her was the worst. Luckily, he arrived with Historia to a doctor who quickly attended to her. One of the perks being recognized as queen. Earlier, the doctor was giving Levi a hard time since he was not a relative to the queen, but he clarified the doctor that he’s her ‘bodyguard’ whose duty was to protect Her Grace at all cost. Of course, the doctor did not know about it, but gave in. After the check up, the doctor explained to Levi that so far everything is stabilized and she needs to rest a lot from the distress she had endured. Most important be on the lookout if heavy bleeding happens within twenty-four hours. He’ll make sure Historia rests as much she needs despite her protest when she wakes up. 

Right now, they checked into a room at an inn along most of his comrades since it was too late to get to the capitol especially how Historia’s condition is at the moment. His hand was rubbing gently on the queen’s baby bump. Since Historia is asleep, he took the opportunity to lean to the belly and whispers to the unborn. “Listen brat, stay strong. You’re an Ackerman; we fight until our last breath. Besides, you’ll break your mother’s heart. So don’t die on us kiddo.” As he continues, a hand grabs his hand gently. Levi glanced up to see his wife waking up. “Mmm, Levi? Where am I?” Historia looks around while trying to sit up. The raven haired man gets up to stop her moving. “Tch, take it easy. The doctor said you should be resting.” Historia gives in and lets her husband tuck the blanket on her. She turned his body to lay on her side to face better at Levi. “We’re in a room of an inn that I checked in.” The queen nods from Levi said. “Levi...about Eren…” She was worried, but Levi interrupted her. “Historia, I’m not mad at you about the stunt Jaeger did to you.” Historia sigh. “I meant about the kiss.” Levi glanced at her and stayed silent. Now, the blonde haired woman is biting her lips nervously. “Levi, you know I love you, only you. I didn’t know he has feelings for me, but you don’t need to worry.” She grabs his hand to squeeze it gently.  The soldier was still quiet. “Levi? Please say something...anything.” Levi’s mind was full of ways to torture Eren. He was trying to contain his rage. Nobody can’t touch or have Historia, especially that Jaeger brat. Historia is his. His stern eyes finally stare down at his wife. The captain sits on the edge of the bed next to her. “I love you too Historia, but next time when I see him; I’ll kill him. Don’t try to stop me. Both Jaeger brothers had crossed the line.” He said his declaration. Historia knows once Levi has his mind set in; he won’t let go until it’s complete. “Alright....fair enough.” She said then move a little bit to make room for her husband to lay next to her on the bed. “Come join me. I missed your cuddles. Don’t worry no one will see your softie side, my love” She giggles while the man in front of her rolls his grey eyes. He lifts the side of the blanket to lay down and wraps his arms around Historia to cuddle her. The queen smiles and snuggles into his arms. She feels safe and sounds just like what she had been craving recently. “Tch, it’s still late, go back to sleep. In the morning we’ll go back to take you to the castle.” Levi caresses her face like a delicate porcelain doll. He watches her eyes get heavy as she drifts back to sleep. “Goodnight, my husband.” The queen whispered. The captain holds her as he also closes his eyes to go to sleep. “Goodnight, my wife.” 

The sunlight shines on the blonde haired figure. She moves gently from waking up from her sleep. Blue eyes are now open and gaze around until she sees a familiar figure right beside her sleeping. Historia smiles and admires seeing a rare sight of her husband sleeping in peace. His closed eyes showed less dark eyes whenever he slept through the night with her. Usually, Levi doesn’t sleep due to nightmares and terrible memories he has gone through since he was a boy. Why bother to ruin this beautiful moment? If Historia decided not to be a queen, she would be happy living in the Orphanage at the farm with Levi waking up and getting ready while she helps him like a dutiful wife. Sadly, this life didn’t bless her true dream, but being a royal; she doesn’t have the luxury that most people have freedom to decide how they want to live. This is the price of her marriage being a secret. For the truth will only bring chaos. There’s a chance their relationship will be exposed from few more people now knowing of their marriage and their unborn child that she’s carrying. Her stomach growls and rubs her belly. “Shhh you’ll wake up your father. Let’s give him an hour more.” The queen soft whisper used to talk to the baby inside her. She’s hungry, but doesn’t mind to wait for a bit longer. 

Historia gets up slowly from making sure she doesn’t wake up Levi. She felt so much better from yesterday's terrifying experience. Historia didn’t know what would happen if her husband and the Survey Corps hadn't come to save her on time. Her body shivers just from thinking the worst scenario that could have happened. The young queen goes to the bathroom to take a nice shower. She feels dirty and probably stinks. Historia is surprised Levi didn’t complain how stinky and dirty she was. Her hand holds on the knob of the shower to turn on and let the water fall down on the tub. While the water slowly turns cold water into warm, she begins to strip her clothes and let it fall on the floor. Once she’s naked, the blonde haired pregnant woman gets into the tub and feels the warm water hits on her skin. “Mmmm this is nice.” Historia whispers as she enjoys it. She instinctively placed her hands on her small baby bump to slowly rub it. Her child is growing week by week which now if she had worn something tight, people would be talking about her pregnancy. Hm, they would probably think she whore herself to be queen and got knocked up as her consequence. Of course, they don’t know the truth. One day, her kingdom will need to know the truth even if it's sooner than she had hope for. The queen had to mentally prepare herself for the worst. Levi would get too overprotective and with Eren and Zeke are still into hiding, more plates are added for her to stress over. Once she’s finished showering, Historia turns off the water and grabs a clean towel to wrap around her body then steps out of the tub. She grabbed another towel to dry her wet blonde hair. The queen gets out of the bathroom and sees her husband now awake. “Oh, morning Levi. Have you slept well?” She smiles. 

Levi had just woken up from hearing the sound of running water from the shower. Huh? Historia is probably in there. He said mentally to himself. The captain sits up to stretch his arm and back. He rarely sleeps well like this, but he rarely sleeps at all. Levi decides to wait until his wife comes out from showering. He should check on the rest of his comrades to make sure they get ready to leave the inn and go back to Mitras. They have an hour on horseback to get to the city capital. Just when he was about to get up from the bed, his wife finished and came out with nothing but a towel wrap around her wet and nude body. Levi was too absorbed in roaming his eyes on her. He barely heard her saying morning to him. The short man gets up to walk towards his wife and hugs her from the back. He leans to kiss her neck and finally speak. “Morning, my love.” Historia can hear his tone becoming husky. She giggled from his kisses on her sensitive neck. “Mmmm Levi, you’re in a good mood. This is very surprising.” She smiles then turns her body to face her husband. He scoffs lightly. “Tch, shut up. I’m just lucky I have a strong beautiful woman in my life.” Historia embraces his affections. “Then, I’m also lucky to have a handsome strong but gentle heart man I fell in love with.” She leans in to kiss his lips. “When I joined the Survey Corp and I met you, I couldn’t stop blushing. Beside having that tough scary look, you were most of the girls’ crushes.” Historia giggles when Levi rolls his eyes. “Tch, if I knew they were crushing on me, I would make them do laps then put on cleaning duties. I would have made you join them.” He smirks as Historia pouts and punches his chest. He chuckles as her punches feel ticklish. “Humph! Yet in the end you couldn’t get enough of me after that day.” Her hand cups his clothed bulge to squeeze it teasingly. Levi grunts then growls from her bold gesture. Historia smirks victoriously. 

“What was that, honey? I can’t understand you.” She still smirks while massaging roughly on his hard bulge. Levi was mumbling incoherently. “Fuck Historia, ok you win!” He moans then his wife’s hand let go of his bulge. Shit now he’s hard and horny. He’ll get her back. Historia laughs feeling victorious until she is being lifted then being pinned on the bed. She blinked her eyes as everything went too fast for her to react. Now, her blue eyes meet stormy grey ones. “L-levi, was that necessary?” The queen pouts but feels the excitement as the captain had pin her on the mattress. Levi leans to whisper her ear. “Probably, since now I am going to need your full attention down there.” He presses his hard crotch between her legs which Historia blushes more from feeling his manhood throbbing on her. Her panting increases while her legs slowly spread. Levi strokes her thigh then kisses her passionately and roughly. Historia’s free arm wraps around his neck to mutually kiss her husband. Both lovers were lost into each other's warmth and lust. “Hey Captain Levi and Your Majesty! Are you both awake? It’s Hange!” A knock on the door interrupted their almost morning sex. Levi was grumbling and cruising from his commander interrupting at the wrong time. “I swear why do we get interrupted when we are about to-” The grey eyed soldier gets up from his queen to go open the door but only stick his head out to see Hange on the other side of the door. “What do you want, Four Eyes?” Levi glares at his commander. Commander Hange grins when she realizes her friend and comrade looked dishevel. “Oh? Am I interrupting something very important?” The brunette wiggles up and down her eyebrows. On the other hand, Levi’s eye twitches from trying not to punch his high up. “Tch, seriously shitty glasses, what is it?” 

Hange glances at Levi then her facial expression becomes serious. “We found one of the Jeagerists followers and captured him. We were interrogating him all night but he was stubborn not to speak.” This caught Levi’s attention. “That’s because you guys aren’t doing it right. So where do you have this shithead located?” His eyes give off a dangerous look. The captain was ready to personally have a chat with the prisoner. “We have him in the stables of the inn. Just make sure to keep him alive.” the dark hair woman steps back to turn. “Oh by the way, breakfast is about to close in half an hour.” The commander walks away while Levi closes the door. Historia has been listening to the conversation between both captain and commander. “Levi, let me come with you to interrogate the prisoner.” Before Historia continues to persuade her husband, Levi shuts her down. “Absolutely not.” “What do you mean absolutely not?” The queen frowned. “I need to be there too, Levi. So, you can’t stop me.” Levi grit his teeth in frustration. “Please Historia, don’t make things difficult. Think for the sake of our child. Beside the doctor said when you were unconscious that you should be in a less stressful environment especially what had happened from being kidnapped last night.” His palm rests on her rosy cheek to stroke gently and tries to convince her to not go to meet the prisoner.  Historia sighs in defeat. “What did the doctor say?” She said in concern. “He said you need to be careful because you might miscarry the baby if you end up in a distress situation so it's best to remain calm and rest as much as possible. Also, he will stop by after breakfast to check up on you.” The blonde haired woman nods. “Alright, I won’t go but promise me you will tell me what happens when you interrogate him please.” Her blue eyes glanced right into Levi’s grey eyes. “Ok, I promise.” He said. “Go eat. You need more food for the both of you.” The captain leaned forward to kiss her forehead. The queen embraces his affection then she cups his face to kiss his lips tenderly. “Let me change first before you leave.” Historia steps back then goes to change into a casual but appropriate dress for a queen. Levi sent one of his comrades to buy a spare dress for his wife since the clothes she wore were covered in dirt and torn from the fight of rescuing her yesterday night. At first, Levi was thinking about waking up earlier to go to a shop that’s open early but when his comrade, Connie came back with a dress; the raven haired man was pleased that one of the shops closed a bit late. Now, Historia put it on that was laid on the bed for her to see. She frowned at first. “Levi, aren’t there spare uniforms the squads sometimes bring for emergencies?” Historia wasn’t a big fan of dresses and gowns but she wore them only for formal events or having an audience. She liked to wear trousers and a blouse with boots since they are very comfortable. Sometimes she did wear long skirts which is the only ladylike clothing she’ll wear. 

“There are but you were complaining that other day that most of your clothes were getting too tight, so instead of pants and a shirt, I sent Connie to buy a comfortable dress with my money.” He sees Historia glares. “I can still fit in them, I’m not fat....yet.” Levi sighs and pinch his nose with his fingers. Great, already the infamous mood swings are kicking in. “Oi woman, you’re going to look beautiful even when you get bigger.” Maybe he should have worded carefully because Historia’s eyes looked a bit pissed off. Her arms were now crossed on her chest and her body face away from him. Levi realized he has to tone it down for both of their sakes. He doesn’t know how to handle this pregnancy thing. “Historia, I don’t care what you look like. You’re always beautiful.” He steps forward to his wife and wraps his arms around her waist to hug her from behind. His nose pressed on her golden hair to inhale her sweet scent. “Even if I get huge, will you still touch me?” Her insecurity becomes visible. “I’ll do more than just touching you.” His hands roamed down to her hips while kissing her neck. “I’ll worship you with my tongue like the goddess you are.” his tone becomes deeper with each word he forms. Historia feels her heart beating fast from the way Levi makes her feel hot and needy for him. When Levi starts to nibble on her skin, a moan escapes which the raven haired man smirks from the reaction he causes for her. As things get a bit further with these lovebirds, the captain pulls away before they get further. “We’ll continue later at the palace.” Levi said while panting and resting his forehead against hers. Historia nods and pecks his lips. “I’ll hold you on to that then.” She smirks then fixes herself to look presentable. Alright I’m ready to be escorted for breakfast, captain.” The queen goes to the door to open it. Levi had also fixed himself then followed his queen to the door. “Let’s hurry, you got 10 mins left before they closed breakfast.” Levi grunts then he realizes they wasted almost half an hour from getting breakfast. As they both left the room, Levi Ackerman saw one of the scouts hanging out by the entrance of the inn’s dining hall. “Soldiers! Escort the queen to the tables and make sure she gets her breakfast. Also, guard her while I have important business I need to deal first.” His tone was stern as he ordered his subordinates. Both soldiers nod as they salute their superior officer. Before the captain leaves, he faces Historia and bow in respect. “I’ll take my leave, Your Grace.” He awaits for the queen to dismiss him. “Thank you for escorting me, Captain Ackerman. You are dismissed.” Now her tone was firm and commanding which Levi made his blood rush with endorphins. Fuck, he can’t wait until they get back to the royal palace soon. Levi has always been into strong women since his own mother was a strong woman. In his opinion, what his own late mother had endured at the brothel and yet still manage to have an optimistic mind that one day she will save enough money to get out of this shit hole to become citizens up on the surface. She had always been the type of mother to put him first so he can have the best childhood possible.

For a kid like him that had grown up in the Underground. He did have an ok childhood when his mother was alive. That's the most achievable a whore mother had done. She made sure Levi was taught to read and write to at least survive, but his writing skill had improved better when Shitty Glasses taught him more how to write better and earn his position as Captain of the Survey Corps when he got promoted. Zoe Hange is the only close friend that’s alive. Furlan, Isabel then Erwin had died for their cause. When he was a small brat, he had a best friend. She was carefree and loves to play the mud which Levi had hated when they wrestle on the mud. She had freckles around her face and dirty blonde hair that was braided into two but her eyes were emerald green. Both their mothers were good friends at one point since they all lived in the same brothel. Unfortunately, like most children of a whore, wasn’t lucky like Levi. One day, his friend, Jessie kept appearing with bruises but had tried to hide it from Levi. He was upset and confused  when he found out why she keeps appearing with bruises. Destinia Waterson, Jessie’s mother, fell in love with one of her clients, who was a notorious drug lord in the Underground. Jessie’s mom was starting to act peculiar. She used to love to keep her room clean and tidy so both her and Jessie can be comfortable as they can. It’s one of the reasons both her and his mother became fast friends and he had great respect for Ms. Waterson until she began dating that fat piece of shit. 

Drugs had consumed the once beautiful Ms. Waterson. Her beauty was rare like his mother’s. Both were the most requested whores in the Underground. One morning, he finished his breakfast and went to the room where Jessie had lived with her mother. When he got there and knocked on the door, Ms. Waterson appeared and said Jessie doesn’t live here anymore. She was gone. Run away from home. Tch, what a fucking lied that was. He remembered what really happened to her. 

A small raven haired boy ran back to the room where his mother was cleaning the room. “Levi, sweetie? What’s wrong?” Kuchel Ackerman glanced at her son concernedly. The boy was quiet as his eyes looked down on the floor. The woman observed to see his fist tighten and his body shaken in fury. “S-she’s gone mom.” His whisper sounded upset. Ms. Ackerman frowned. “Gone? Jessie is not at home?” She was confused about what her son was trying to say to her. “Yes. She’s gone. Ms. Waterson said she ran away.” He finally looked up at his mother. Kuchel was heartbroken when she saw tears from her sweet baby.  The raven haired beauty goes to hug her son. “I’m sorry my darling. We’ll go look for her, but I am going to talk to Destinia first. Wait right here. I’ll be back.” Kuchel got up from hugging her child and walked out of the room to go talk to her estranged friend. Levi waited a couple of hours for his mom. His head moved to see the door slam opened and his mother was pushed in and fell on the ground. The boy got up quickly to help his mother up. “Mom!” Suddenly, he was yanked from his mother. He glared at the man who dared to grab him. “Let go of me! You asshole!” Ethan Hitch, the notorious drug lord, scoffed at Levi. “Shut up you brat! Be a good boy and leave while your cunt mother spread her legs for me.” Ethan laughed along with his men who were just entering the room. Levi was glaring hard at these vile men. “Touch my mother and I fucking swear I will kill you!” His eyes held so much fire and disgust for the men. “Oh what a bold statement this little rat has? You got guts, kid. You should work for me. Maybe you’ll help your mommy from having a part time job. What do you say kid? I’m a generous man after all.” Levi was not having it so he decided to spit on his face. The drug lord growls in anger. “You piece of shit, you a dead kid!” He threw Levi and watched as the boy hit himself on the wall. Kuchel screamed in fright and ran to protect her son. “No, please Ethan. I beg of you. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. I will do anything.” Her tears weep as she holds her precious baby tightly. “Fine, I’ll let the brat live. Kid, get out unless you want to watch us do what your mother really does as her job.” Levi was disgusted again by the older man’s comment. Kuchel didn’t let go of her son to make sure he doesn’t enrage the drug lord. She glanced at her child. “Levi, please listen to me. I want you to help Mr. Douglas. I’m sure after you help, he’ll give you a nice free warm meal.” Kuchel wants her son to be away from this room for a few hours or more. No child shouldn’t hear what she was about to endure soon. Levi was about to argue, but Ms. Ackerman became stern. “Don’t argue with me young man. Now go march to Mr. Douglas.” Levi frowned in defeat and walked away from the room but gave off his death glare at the three scums.  

In the end, she got sick from those filthy shitheads and passed it on whatever disease they got. Even when she got sick, his mother put on a smile to keep telling him everything would be fine. 

My son, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. You’ll see. I promise you. We’ll go live up to the surface... 

What a load of bullshit. That was the last thing he said to her before she died. The guilt was eating him up for years. He could have given the best last moments for her, but with all the frustration and anger at the world; he didn’t hold in. the one thing she was right, he made it out to live up on the surface. The great links a mother will do for her child. Maybe she did have some contact with Kenny to beg him to take her precious boy? It doesn’t matter anyways. Kenny did have a soft spot for his baby sister and took Levi under his wings until he was old enough to take care of himself. During his time being under Kenny’s wings, Levi got a side job as hitman. It was the day he found Jessie since the day she supposedly ran away. 

Levi was in some saloon where the notorious gangs and crime lords hang out to flash off their stupid egos. Levi was now in his teens and looking for another job. He found the same man who gave him the last job he took. As he went there, the man greeted him and gave him the next victim’s location. Levi accepted and headed out to succeed his mission. He ends up in a nice fancy like place where probably some big shot lives. While he sneaked in, he got caught by a woman. It might have been one of the whores.

“Levi? Is that you?” The raven haired teen turned around and raised his brow at her. Who is this girl? Had she met him before? Levi began to observe each detail feature if he could recognize her. 

“Levi, it’s me Jessie. Do you remember when we used to play mud wrestle as kids?” The girl gave a warm smile which made him recognize who she was to him. 

“Jessie? Damn it, where have you been? Your mom said you ran away.” Levi was surprised seeing his childhood friend. Jessie’s smile turned frown. “Is that what she told you?” 

Levi was confused and looked around the place. “Why are you here? Don’t tell me, your-”

“A whore? Yeah, sorry to disappoint you, but I am. It’s the way it is here, Levi.” Jessie gets up from the bed, but has a silky bed sheet wrapped around her naked body. Levi couldn’t stop staring at her. She had grown into a womanly figure. Once upon a time, Levi and Jessie made a pact to run away and get married if things didn't get better for them and their mothers. The raven haired teen thought he’ll never get the opportunity to be with Jessie. Maybe this is it. He can make that happen. Levi knows he can protect her all thanks to that bastard, Kenny who taught him how to fight to survive.  

“Hey perv, my eyes are up here.” Jessie rolls her eyes but smirks when Levi snapped from being in trance. He blushed but looked away. “Sorry.” He mumbled. 

“You know, I didn’t run away if you have been wondering why I was gone.” She said which caught the other’s attention. 

“I was sold by Ethan when mom couldn’t pay her debts from the drugs she got addicted to.” Levi’s eyes widen from this revelation. “I didn’t know...I have looked for you.” He whispered. 

“Really?” Her eyes shined with hope and walked closer to him. 

“Yeah.” His face became flushed again. “Come with me. Let’s make our promise happen.” Levi grabbed her hand and pulled her gently. Jessie stopped. “Wait Levi, if Raymond finds out I disappear, he’ll hunt down us.” She was worried. Levi glanced at her and scoffed. 

“Like I’ll let that cunt find us. If he did, I won’t hesitate to slit his throat.” His tone was cold which sent goosebumps to Jessie. The dirty blonde haired girl contemplated the thought of whether to leave with Levi or not. 

“Alright, let’s do this.” She nodded. “So where’s your clothes?” Levi looked around to find her clothes. Jessie sighed. “Um, I didn’t come here with them...Raymond forbade me to wear nothing but only jewels.” The way her voice sounded was disgusted and ashamed. 

Levi feels his jaw tighten from anger raising. He tries to remain calm while searching for anything for her to wear so they can leave this place. His eyes spotted a rag shirt and grabbed it. “Here wear this.” He tossed it to her. Jessie caught it but glanced at him. “Aren’t you gonna turn around?” She said and Levi nodded then turned away so Jessie can change into it. After she got changed, both began leaving the room. 

Once they reached the exit, but the door opened; few men walked in. “Well well what do we have here?” The big stocky man grinned from seeing both teens trying to escape. “Jessie, I’m so disappointed in you. Trying to run away from me? After all the things I’ve showered you with luxury and comfort, but you decided to be with this scrawny little shit?” The same man walked forward to them while Levi moved Jessie to protect her behind him. “Gentlemen, let’s teach this brats a lesson about stealing and disobeying.” The big man snapped his fingers to command his lackeys. Now, Levi swinged his knife at the other men to get away from them. “You must be the bastard called Raymond?” Levi’s tone was cold as he glared at the main guy. 

“Ah, it seems Jessie has told you about me? Tell me boy, who are you so I can hang your body with your name on it so the Underground will fear not to cross me.” Raymond's sinister laugh echoed in the room along with his men. 

Jessie was scared for Levi’s life which she knew Raymond was notorious for hanging his enemies’ corpses to display fear and power in this stinky underground city. “No! Please Raymond, let Levi go. I swear I will be obedient and loyal to you.” She cried to plead to her owner. 

“Levi? Huh? Now that I think about it. You do look like your mother. It’s such a shame she was gone since you don’t find pretty whores these days. She definitely had talent under the sheet. Am I right guys?” He laughed and nudged one of his lackeys. 

“In the memories of Kuchel, I’ll give you a quick death, after all the only guilt I had was giving her the illness that caused her death.” The cruelest man mumbled. Levi was in the state of shock from this news. The fiery emotion burning through his veins. His heart beats louder. His tears fell from the hatred and broken soul he carried. So this filth was the reason his precious mother had left him from this cruel fucked up world? Wait, so does that mean he gave Jessie the same illness that killed his mother? 

A  weak but sickly cough coming from behind him confirmed one of his questions. No no not Jessie? Not the girl he...had strong feelings since childhood. Levi was distracted when a bang sound was heard and a scream. “NO!” The boy snapped back to reality to see his childhood crush in front of him to protect him from the gunshot. “Jessie no!” He held on to her as her body limped. She looked at him struggling to breathe. “I’m s-sorry...I h-have to b-break our promise. I love you.” Levi choked in tears while the light of her eyes vanished. 

“Well damn, see what you did there? I lost my favorite toy. Later once I’m done with you, I will have to get a new replacement.” By then Levi gently placed Jessie’s body on the floor. Before Raymond was about to pull the trigger, Levi didn’t hesitate to charge forward in speed to disarm the gun and slit his back knees to have him on the ground in pain. The lackeys were surprised and tried to pull out their guns. With the same speed, Levi slits their throats as his advantage from their shock instantly killed them. The short teen glared at his victim like a  predator stalked his prey. 

Raymond glanced to see his best men dead on the floor. “L-levi, wait wait let’s not get to rash about this. I mean there are many girls you can find in this place. I can share you with some of mine.” The fear in the eyes of the Boss Man showed as Levi slowly walked toward him with smear blood from the lackeys. “Shut up. She wasn’t someone who can be replaced. You. You’re the fucking reason why my mother was dead. And now you killed the girl I-I…” The steel grey eyed boy choked from his words what he regretted to say back to Jessie. “That I fucking loved.” His hand gripped the remaining man’s shirt to pull him close to Levi. “Please I’ll give you what you want. Let’s be partners? I give my half to you.” the thug trembled from seeing this disturbing sight from Levi. Who would have thought a midget kid can look like Satan itself. “Oh God please.” He begged. Now Levi had the last laugh as his chuckles became darker. “Oh the irony. You see, there is no reason to wonder where your god is. Cause he’s right here, and he’s fresh out of mercy.” Raymond screamed as Levi’s icy tone gave him chills. Levi twirled his knife with his fingers and slowly tortured the big man into mutilating his body. 

It took longer than Levi normally would end someone’s life. By the time he finished, the room was silent. He looked up to see three bodies on the floor which most of the floor is covered with blood. The teen got up to grab the bed sheet Jessie was wrapped around earlier and used it to carefully wrap around her corpse. Once he’s done, Levi carries her corpse to the lavish bed to place it  centered. He glanced to his left to see roses bloomed beautifully into the vase. He grabbed them to place the roses on a wrapped corpse. Before he walked out, Levi grabbed a rope and tilted the candle lights on to the floor and the furniture to let the place burn, then dragged the mutilated body of Raymond down to the middle of the street. He tied the dead body to the big pole since this served justice in his opinion. The place smelled burnt bodies. It won’t be long until people will come to put out the fire. The broken boy started walking away while he slowly became numbed.  

“Captain? Are you alright?” His thoughts were interrupted by the soft voice of his wife. “Hm? Yes, sorry. Be ready soon because after breakfast, we’ll head out to Mitras.” He said then turns around to start walking away to the stables. Levi once again buried his memories about his past deep into his mind. Right now, it’s not the time for skipping around in memory lane. The Captain of the Survey Corps keeps walking until he enters the stable. The captured man looks up to see Levi with cold deadly eyes ready to torture him. 

“Tch, good thing you’re already awake. Let’s play a little game where I make the questions and you answer. The only rule here is you better answer all honestly or pieces of your body will be rip apart. Don’t worry, you will still be functional enough for the MPs to have their turn to interrogate you.” His cool dark tone was causal. 

“So tell me old man, what plans do the Jaeger bastards and your little groupie have with the queen?” His fingers naturally twirl the knife when he pulls out from his back pocket.

The older man was silent. His dark eyes observed the captain. Levi growls low when the hostage ignores his threat. “You think this is a joke to you huh?” Levi grabs the collar of the other’s shirt to pull him closer. 

“You inherited your mother’s eye, boy, but your spirit is just like your father’s.” The hostage was calm but gave a warm tone. Levi let him go as he didn’t expect this new revelation. “What? What did you just say? Who the fuck are you?” Levi shouted. “Boy, I just said it a few seconds ago. He chuckled. “But hello Levi. It’s finally a pleasure knowing you. I’m your grandfather, my name is William Miles. 

A/N: Ok, this is the longest chapter I ever typed. So, before I explain further; I want to make a disclaimer. I don’t own Attack On Titan, and Assassin’s Creed. So yes, I finally planned where I want this story to go. I plan on moving or if I already did it, I have moved this story to the crossover section. Also if anyone got the references of what Levi had said to Raymond before torturing him, it was from SAO abridged when Kirito dealt with Rosalia and her guild. Also, please let me know what you guys think of this chapter so far or this story. Don’t forget to leave a review please. I really appreciate you guys took the time to read and reviewed :D 

Thank you so much and stay tuned for the next chapter.

[animatedarchives]

HELLO SOPHHHH MY OTHER HALF🌜🌛 you should really sleep now😡😡 goodnight and I love you soso much!! I hope you have sweet dreams and Oikawa comes to visit them because you deserve some lovin mwah

HAHAHAHAHA HELLO MY TELEPATHY TWIN ✨🤩✨ its so sad that i have to sleep now ;-; oh no, not sad for me but for you cuz ik you cant survive without my presence 😩😩😩 its ok bb i will return to you aSAP I PROMISE 😙😙 try not to be too sad without me okay~~~ LOLOL all jokes aside i love you literally to the moon and back my love talking to you GIVES ME TO MUCH SEROTONIN FR UGH and i live for our foodie moments i love you sO FRICKIN MUCH MAAM and i dont need oikawa in my dreams when you are always on my mind 😌❤️

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life (26/50) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1741 Chapter Summary: Adrien has a surpirse in for him, in the middle of the night! He can't let it bother him, he has an important interview in the morning. And, of course, Marinette is coming along to get some behind the scenes scoop. Something is bothering her, though. Author's Note: it's december! this is exciting. FUN FACT someone actually gave me the idea for this chapter/video on ao3 a few updates ago! I know the interviews like this are a little different, but I pictured this so clearly in my head, I changed it around a bit. More action to come the next few chapters :)

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Adrien's Buzzfeed Interview (Behind the Scenes!)

---

Unlike Marinette, Adrien had been sleeping through the night. He's typically a light sleeper, so he usually wakes up to random noises in his room. He's been double-checking the locks on all his windows and even had Nathalie order new curtains that fully fit them in his room. Just in case Hawkmoth could see into his bedroom.

Plagg, on the other hand, was much more worried than Adrien. As a god, he didn't need as much sleep. He would only sleep in increments, though, concerned that someone could steal him away from Adrien.

The rare moment where both of them were asleep was when Adrien's bedroom door opened. It was dark in his room, but there was a little light coming in from the hallway.

Adrien heard the footsteps approach his bed, but thought it was only in his dream. A few moments passed before he realized no, that was real life. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw his father standing above him at the side of his bed, eyes fixated on Adrien's hand.

"Oh, father," Adrien sat up slowly, and Gabriel forced his eyes to look at Adrien's face. "You're home. Do you want to go talk now, or wait until morning?" As Adrien asked, he saw Nathalie peer around the open door to watch them.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "Let's go talk." Without another word, Gabriel turned around and walked out of Adrien's room.

"This should be interesting," Adrien said and got out of bed. "Come on, Plagg."

With Plagg in his pocket, Adrien found his father and Nathalie sitting at the long table. For once, he sat right next to his father and across from Nathalie at the same end. "You've been Chat Noir this whole time?" Gabriel asked, not looking at Adrien.

"Yes, father. I was chosen a few years ago, and Ladybug and I make a great team," Adrien explained himself.

"Of course," He nodded. "The Dupain-Cheng girl. I always knew there was something off about her."

Adrien perked up. "What?"

Gabriel shook his head. "I can't believe you went behind my back, Adrien. Sneaking out and putting yourself in danger? After you begged me to go to school, how much of it have you missed due to these fights?" Gabriel said.

"To be fair, everyone misses school when there's an Akuma. They want everyone to be safe from Hawkmoth when an Akuma is attacking the city," Adrien explained.

"I see," Gabriel nodded. "You should have told me."

Adrien looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry, father. But I couldn't. I couldn't risk putting you in danger, and I was afraid if I told one person, it would spiral out of control. Ladybug got that idea of me telling people out of my head really quick," He said. "It was kind of like a pact."

Gabriel still didn't look at Adrien. "Do you know who Hawkmoth is?"

"No, we're working on it," Adrien said. "I'm exhausted, can we finish this conversation tomorrow? I want to get some sleep since I have that big interview-"

"Yes, of course. Goodnight, Adrien. We'll continue tomorrow," Gabriel dismissed and waited for Adrien to leave.

Adrien shut his door and sighed against it. "That was...weird," Adrien announced.

"You bet it. I know your dad is creepy, but that was the creepiest he's been!" Plagg said. "I need some cheese after dealing with that conversation," Plagg flew over to the mini-fridge and grabbed a big slice of camembert.

---

Marinette waited outside of the bakery with her camera, smiling wide when Adrien's car pulled up. She got in the back to sit with Adrien as his bodyguard began driving them to Adrien's interview. "How are you today?" Adrien greeted.

"I stood outside, and no one came up to me," Marinette said. "So that was nice. I was expecting to walk out and be swarmed."

"That happened to me a lot," Adrien laughed. "Just from being a model."

Marinette shrugged. "Yeah, a model. That makes sense," She justified. "How are you? Excited?"

"My dad got home last night. It was an...interesting conversation," Adrien sighed. "He was upset I kept it a secret, and asked about Hawkmoth. We finished talking this morning, but all it did was upset me. But yeah, this interview should be fun," Adrien shook his head to make himself smile again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Marinette offered.

Adrien shrugged. "Maybe later. I've got to keep myself happy for this interview. Do you want to start your video?"

"Oh, sure!" She smiled and turned the camera on. "Hi! I'm Marinette! I'm here again with Adrien-" She said and panned over to show him in the frame, a smile on his face, and he gave a wave, "And he invited me to get some behind-the-scenes of his interview."

Adrien nodded. "And it's going to be a fun one today! Some people from Buzzfeed are visiting Paris and asked me to do this interview, so I thought- why not? And I had to bring Mari, for obvious reasons," Adrien concluded. "I'm excited; we're almost there."

"I guess we'll tune back in when we get there!" Marinette said, and shut the camera off for the few minutes left in the car.

Only a few moments later, they arrived at the studio, and Gorilla waited to pull away until both of them were inside. He knew they didn't need the extra protection, but it was a habit, and he would always worry about them. Adrien and Marinette were greeted at the door with big smiles and welcoming faces.

"Adrien Agreste!" One of the men greeted in English. It was a good thing they both knew how to speak English...but Adrien wouldn't have agreed if he wasn't comfortable. "It's a pleasure to meet you, we're really excited to do this interview," He said, then realized Marinette was behind Adrien. "And Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Wow, a real treat to have both of you here!"

A woman appeared with wide eyes. "Wait...you guys are both here? This is amazing!"

Marinette shook her head. "I'm just here to get some behind the scenes for Adrien and to put on my YouTube channel after you guys upload the interview," She clarified. "Just act like I'm not even here."

"Also," Adrien interrupted. "I'm not sure what you guys have planned, but please don't bring up the Chat Noir thing. Marinette and I are really trying to keep it just to us who posts things, and I don't want it to-"

"No need to worry," The man cut him off. "We weren't planning on it, and honestly, we're still trying to figure out how this superhero thing even works."

Marinette chuckled. "Stick around for a few days, and you'll see," She said under her breath.

After a few more minutes of small talk conversation, they led Adrien and Marinette to where the interview would be recorded. It was a blue background, and they just told Adrien to stand because of "better posture." He understood, and stood on the small 'x' on the floor, looking right at the camera.

Marinette brought out her camera and started to record as they got everything set up. "Having fun, Adrien?" Marinette called for him to look at her.

"Oh yeah," He said, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up to the camera.

"Ready?" The man asked, and Adrien nodded as he looked back at the primary camera. At least she wouldn't have to subtitle this video. "Alright, first question: we know you're a model for your dad's company- what's your favorite part?" The man asked, and just as Adrien was about to answer, the door opened, and five puppies ran to him.

Both Marinette and Adrien gasped when the puppies came in. "It's a puppy interview?" Adrien squealed, sitting down to let the puppies jump all over him. "This is the best day of my life," He said, then looked back up as he held one of the puppies. "What was the question again?"

The crew chuckled as the man re-asked Adrien the question. "Oh! I love a lot of it. It's enjoyable to model, going to photoshoots, and just working, especially when my friends tag along. It's a lot of hard work, but definitely worth it," He clarified. "Oh my god, these puppies are the best ever."

"Do you get treated like a celebrity in school?"

With a puppy licking Adrien's face, he tried to answer. "No, not really. When I first came to school, people were excited, now we're all just normal friends and normal kids, we've just got a lot going on," He said in between giggles that came from the puppies. "I wish I could take one of these little guys home!"

"You do not need a puppy," Marinette scolded from the side, snickering behind her own camera. "Like you just said, you're too busy."

"Let me dream, Marinette!" He shouted back, holding the one puppy in front of him, and looking away from Marinette. "Plus, my dad wouldn't like a little trouble maker in the house."

The crew was loving seeing the interactions between Marinette and Adrien. "Maybe a hamster would be more suitable," Marinette smirked behind her camera.

Adrien shook his head, only slightly ignoring her. "Do we have another question?"

---

I just watched the BuzzFeed video and now marinette is posting behind the scenes?? i am not ok

they HAVE to be dating. the way they argue is so adorable, it's not normal??? ummmmmmmmm ship

adrien with puppies for an interview was too much for me to handle. You expect me to be better with a BONUS VIDEO? i mean i love it but i might be dead

i love that mari tags along to like all his events. friend goals. relationship goals.

I'm just so, so happy that she's still posting videos. I was really worried she was going to stop posting altogether after what happened.

They're really out here living their best lives. I stan

did the buzzfeed people freak out about ladybug and chat noir

Marinette was also happy she could continue posting, but the comments became less enjoyable to read when she would always find the comments about their superhero personas. She figured out that she just needed to stop reading when she read a few, and take a break from the internet.

She took a deep breath as she went to her bed. How hasn't an Akuma come after her yet?

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries